


A Byte Alone

by Quipxotic



Series: Monsters and Legends AUs [3]
Category: Elementary (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Gen, Vampire Hunters, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 19:38:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8502781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quipxotic/pseuds/Quipxotic
Summary: Joan goes on a solo mission to find a vampire, but will she get more than she bargained for?A prequel/sequel to "A Quiet Byte."





	

Joan eyed the building across the street and checked her watch. She still had a few minutes until sunset. This would all be much easier if she knew where these creatures went during the day, but so far neither the NYPD nor Joan, Sherlock, and their team of Irregulars had been able to locate the vampires’ bolt hole.

Vampires. Sherlock always grimaced at her whenever she said the word. 

“It’s inaccurate, Watson,” he had chided over their morning coffee. “These things are a disease, not a curse. Giving them a name out of legends only makes it more likely that we will fall prey to easy, but erroneous assumptions about their true nature.”

Joan smiled. She took his point, but she viewed the issue more pragmatically. The creatures they were hunting were vulnerable to sunlight, drank blood, lacked heart beats, and had strength and speed beyond that of an average human. Over the last few weeks they’d also left a trail of bodies across New York City, some of whom had come back to life in police station morgues. If something looked like a vampire and acted like a vampire, Joan saw no harm in calling it by that name. 

As she waited, she checked her tools one last time. In a leather satchel she had a crossbow and a quiver of stakes. She’d tried to convince Sherlock to arm himself as well, but so far he had refused. In her coat pocket she had a sample of the vampire cure she’d been working on and her phone with the beta version of Mason’s vampire immobilization app, “Quiet Byte.” With luck both of the cure and the app would come through their first tests tonight with flying colors. 

The lights in the building turned on and Joan took that as her cue to walk across the street. Five of the vampires’ victims had all eaten at this restaurant before they were attacked, which meant that if you were trying to find a vampire it was a great place to start.

——

The meal was pleasant but uneventful. Joan saw nothing to indicate that the restaurant was anything other than what it purported to be: a Mediterranean bistro that catered to young crowd. She asked her waitress about the previous victims, showing her their photos, but the woman only had vague memories of two of them. A conversation with the bartender was slightly more productive, he at least confirmed that they were all regulars, but even that turned up no new information. Disappointed, Joan stepped outside and checked the time again. It was 8 PM and by now Sherlock would be out on his own investigation. If she didn’t find a vampire her way, perhaps he’d find one using his methods. She had just pulled out her phone to text him when she noticed a black shape moving at the edge of her vision. She turned quickly, hoping to catch sight of whatever was causing it, but it was gone. Joan looked back down at her phone and smiled as she sent Sherlock a two-word message: “It’s on.”

Turning to her left, she strolled away from the bistro at slow, steady pace. She didn’t want the vampire to know that she was on to them. As Joan walked she considered her next move. The brownstone was an possibility and she’d certainly prefer to be on familiar ground, but she wasn’t sure she should tempt the vampire’s patience that long. The other option was a dance studio three blocks from the restaurant. It belonged to one of their Irregulars and the owner had given Joan a spare key in case she ever needed it. Joan fingered the key in her pocket and made a decision. She turned down a side street in the direction of the dance studio. 

The shadow followed her, always staying just at the periphery of her vision. Joan fought against the instinct to flee, knowing she couldn’t outrun the creature stalking her and that a confrontation on the street risked the safety of passersby. When she finally arrived at her destination, Joan took a deep breath and, turning her back to the street, she fitted the key into the door lock. Just then, Joan heard something move behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a woman in dark dress staring at her intensely from across the street. The woman held Joan’s gaze for a minute, her eyes glowing red. Then she smiled slowly, revealing her fangs. Joan turned the key in the lock and the door clicked open. 

Joan stepped quickly inside, locking the door behind her. According to the police reports the lock wouldn’t be much of a deterrent but it might buy her a little time to prepare. She reached past a hat stand to flip on the hall light and saw a narrow staircase leading up to the studio. Joan ran up the stairs and turned left at the landing to step into a long rectangular room The street lights filtered into the dance studio through three large, floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the room and were reflected by the mirror on the opposite wall. It was enough light to see by so Joan didn’t waste time trying to find a light switch. Instead she walked toward the mirror, moving her bag as she walked so it was slung across her chest like a messenger bag. She unzipped the satchel so that she could have easy access to the crossbow and, as a precaution, she slipped a stake into place, ready to fire. Then she stepped backward until her back met mirror and, phone in hand, she waited.

After a few minutes she heard the door downstairs unlock. Then came the slow, steady thud of steps on the stairs. Joan turned slightly and saw a dark shape standing in the doorway to the studio.

“You took your time,” Joan quipped, her tone as even and casual as she could make it.

For a moment there was silence. “Fear makes the blood taste sweeter,” the vampire replied at last, her voice smooth and sensual. “Forcing our prey to wait usually increases their fear.” Another pause. “But you seem difficult to frighten.”

Joan smiled. “You’re not the first to say so, nor the last I suspect.”

“You think you’re going to walk away from this alive?” The vampire began stalking toward her and Joan risked a glance in the mirror. The woman had no reflection, so that was one legend proved. “How exactly are you planning to survive?” the vampire asked, her eyes flaring brightly in the low light as she neared her quarry. 

Joan waited until the woman was within a few feet of her before she turned on Mason’s app. The effect was immediate - the vampire froze in mid-step, wobbling slightly as she attempted to maintain her balance. “Using this,” Joan answered, walking toward the now immobile vampire. “I can’t hear the frequencies this generates, but apparently you can.” She placed the phone on the floor near her feet so that she could have her hands free, and pulled the syringe out of her pocket. “And if this works as it should, you will be completely cured.” Joan removed the protective cap that covered the needle and took hold of the woman’s wrist. “Here’s hoping.” With that she plunged the needle into the exposed skin on the vampire’s upper forearm and injected the endonuclease.

For a while nothing seemed to happen. Then the vampire groaned as her teeth started to slowly retract. Her eyes began flickering between a red glow and a more human shade of brown. Joan noted these responses with satisfaction, but she also noticed that the vampire was no longer frozen in place. She watched as the creature slowly lowered her foot. A quick glance at her phone showed Joan that the app was still running. “So as the enzymes begin to work, the app becomes less effective,” Joan muttered to herself, making a mental note to tell Sherlock. 

Suddenly there was a noise on the stairs. Joan turned in time to see something thrown in her direction. On instinct she dodged out of the way, but she was not the intended target. The hat stand hit her phone at an angle and both objects went spinning across the room. The vampire she’d injected, now out of the app’s range, collapsed to the floor. Joan stumbled to her feet, scanning the room for the source of this new threat. She reached into her bag to pull out the crossbow, but a cold hand gripped her wrist from behind. Joan struggled to face her assailant but felt two sharp teeth bit into her neck. She cried out in pain and then the world went dark. 

——

When Joan awoke she was lying on the floor. Her whole body ached and she felt cold and weak. In the distance, she heard voices. Keeping her eyes closed, she lay as still possible as she strained to listen.

“We should kill her,” said one voice. Joan recognized it as belonging to the female vampire she’d injected. “Drink her dry and burn the corpse.”

“How are you going to drink anyone?” asked a second voice, also female but much lower. “You hardly have fangs anymore!”

“She did something to me, tried to change me back.”

“But only half-succeed, apparently.” The second voice chuckled evilly. “It doesn’t matter. This one is needed. We have plans for she and her partner.”

Joan opened her eyes slightly. She could see the two creatures standing silhouetted in front of one of the windows. They were far enough away that she risked rolling over a little. She felt a weight on her hip and realized that her bag was still slung around her shoulders. If she could get to her crossbow she might have half a chance. She slowly reached into the bag and brushed her fingers across the wood, but she was too weak to pull the crossbow free. 

“I don’t care about any plans,” the first vampire yelled defiantly. “I want her dead!”

As the two vampires argued, Joan heard a buzzing noise in the distance. It took her a while to realize that it was her phone vibrating to indicate an incoming text message. Then a second realization dawned on her and worry drowned out all other feelings. Sherlock! He was waiting for her and, for all she knew, he could be in trouble! Joan gritted her teeth and gripped the crossbow. Using what energy she had left, she pulled the weapon free, aimed, and fired. 

The stake hit one vampire full in the chest. The other vampire hissed at Joan in rage and stalked forward. Joan fumbled to reload, the stakes slipping from her fingers as she struggled to hurry. She finally managed slip one in place and cock the crossbow just as the vampire reached her. She fired at point blank range and the second vampire fell beside her. 

Breathing heavily, Joan propped herself up on her elbows as she watched the vampires cautiously. Eventually, she stood and unsteadily limped over to the bodies to confirm her suspicions. Both vampires lay still and Joan recognized the signs that they would soon turn to dust. She’d done it. If she’d felt better she would have marveled at her own marksmanship, but as it was she just felt relieved and tired. Leaning against the wall for support, she tentatively touched the side of her neck, feeling the puncture wounds there. Joan sighed and wondered how long she had until the change began. In the movies these things took a while but, as Sherlock had said, assuming that legends and stories were always accurate was a risky business. 

The sound of her phone spurred her into action again. Joan walked gingerly over to where it had come to rest against the mirrored wall. As she picked the phone up, she noticed that the app had shut itself off. Joan grunted in annoyance - clearly the app needed some tweaks - and turned to her text messages. There were three of them, all from Sherlock.

“Come at once if convenient,” read the first. “If inconvenient, come anyway,” read the second. Joan smiled in spite of herself, recognizing the phrases from a period early in their friendship. The final text simply read, “Quickly Watson.” The change in tone seemed to signal that his situation was becoming dire. Joan frowned in concern. Sherlock needed her, so all other worries would have to wait. 

She flicked through the steps needed to track his phone. By the time she’d located his signal near an abandoned warehouse complex, she was feeling a bit stronger. She slipped the crossbow back into her bag and pulled out her black, wide-brimmed hat. She settled the hat on head and pulled it low over her eyes as she strode out of the dance studio. Absentmindedly running her tongue over her teeth, she texted Sherlock as she walked. “On my way,” the message read, “stall them until I get there.”

**Author's Note:**

> For how relatively easy "A Quiet Byte" was to write, this one has been damn hard. I'm still not overly happy with it but it seems to be the best I can do right now, so I'm posting it to get it out of my brain.


End file.
